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To get more information about this Edible Arrangements Franchise - Absentee Run business for sale in
Alameda County please phone Bob Jhala (Agent - BRE License #:01511891) at 951-818-8907 - if you get
voicemail please leave a detailed message - make sure you mention you
saw this posting/ad #250532 on BizBen.com. In addition to phoning
Bob Jhala, make sure you email Bob Jhala above to get more info about this
Edible Arrangements Franchise - Absentee Run, to ask any questions or request an appointment to see this
business for sale. Thank you.
Niche business purchase financing advisory and loan placement services with SBA and Non-SBA Financing, Retirement Fund Rollover Solutions, Combo Financing Packages. To get professionally pre-qualified or more information on the ProBuy/ProSell Programs: 925-785-3118.
Founder Of BizBen.com (since 1994). I am the Lead Advisor for the ProSell, ProBuy, & ProIntermediary Programs. I consult daily with buyers, sellers, and brokers daily about buying and selling California small to mid-sized businesses. Call 925-785-3118.
California Business Escrow, Inc. is a full service independent escrow company serving all of California and has expertise in a wide range of escrows. Our team prides itself on providing an exceptional escrow experience. For more info phone Diane Boudreau-Tschetter at 888-383-3331 or 209-838-1100.
McGovern Escrow Services, Inc., is a leading independent escrow company. We are a trusted partner with our clients, assisting them through the tangled bulk sale & liquor license transfer process. We provide attentive, quality & innovative customer service. Phone Elizabeth McGovern at 415-735-3645.
Redwood Escrow Services, Inc. is a full service, licensed independent escrow company. We are EAFC Fidelity bonded, fully insured & licensed with the Department of Corporations. Committed to offering our clients the most comprehensive variety of escrow services available. Phone Janet at 510-247-0741.
Escrow services to brokers/agents, sellers, & buyers. Established 43 years. Extraordinary service. Experienced with handling difficult transactions. One stop for all your escrow needs: Bulk sales, lien searches, UCC searches, liquor license transfers, publishing & recording services. 951-808-3972.
Jeff Back (925-736-8200), a SF Bay Area broker specialist who specializes in selling restaurants discusses what he looks for when sizing up a potential restaurant for sale. Do the restaurants you're thinking of purchasing have good Karma? See Jeff's insights into this topic on restaurant karma.
Jeff Back, Restaurant Broker & Consultant in the SF Bay area discusses myths about buying restaurant small businesses. It's not what you have been told. He includes 5 myths of the most frequently sited principles for success that are simply myths when examined over decades of his experience.
This informative 40 minute interview/webinar about buying & selling restaurants in San Francisco with restaurant broker specialist Cheryl Maloney is a real eye opener for restaurant buyers and sellers. Cheryl gives great advice to both buyers and sellers from her years of experience in the industry.
People always need to eat; there should be plenty of business. Some restaurant buyers think there is prestige to owning a popular eating establishment. But it isn't an easy business purchase. Peter Siegel, MBA (BizBen Founder, ProBuy & ProSell Program Director at 925-785-3118) reviews this topic.
Buying a restaurant (no matter what type) can have many pitfalls, and potential restaurant buyers should know how to avoid getting burned! Several restaurant intermediaries and advisors weigh in on this BizBen Discussion about the best way to find, purchase and run a restaurant successfully!
What are the actual "provable" adjusted net earnings (cash flow) of a small to mid-sized business being purchased? Buyers need to look carefully at all financial info for the "real" adjusted net income/cash flow. Peter Siegel, MBA (BizBen ProBuy & ProSell Lead Facilitator) at 925-785-3118 explains.


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Video: 40 Cal - I Stay Skemed Up
Video for Video: 40 Cal - I Stay Skemed Up off the new 40cal dipset cd entitled dipmasters collection hosted by dukedagod dipset/skeme
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Outfit Details:
hat - H+M
glasses - Ray-Ban
Joie Vanity Jacket - c/o Joie (their new e-commerce launches in a few days!)
grey shawl collar sweater - Bobby's
Free People loose knit tunic - Bloomingdales (it was $11 on sale!)
black tank dress (underneath - H+M
Hansel from Basel tights - c/o Emerging Thoughts
Vance boots - c/o Blowfish
bag - c/o Coach
K ring - Fancy Sexy Me (at Artists + Fleas in Williamsburg)
nail polish - Estee Lauder Purple Passion
Contrary to what the product placement suggests, this post is not sponsored by Starbucks. My fall and winter, however, might as well be - I use hot coffee and tea as hand (and stomach) warmers. My favorite part is seeing how they spell my name; I rarely offer the correct spelling, because it's more fun that way. When I was a kid, I used to get annoyed at people who constantly mispronounced my name, but now that I'm an older and more patient adult (this is actually a total lie), I don't mind. People call me Keeko, Cocoa, Kiko (pronounce kEYEko), sometimes even Kayla. I don't even notice, anymore. If you have an unusual name - and I know it's common in Japan, but not the in the states - you have to expect it. For the record, it's Keiko and it's pronounced Cake-oh. But you can call me Keeko, if you want. I can't hear you through your computer, anyway.
Just don't do it in front of my mom. She might cut you.


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five frames of modern and contemporary mirror frames for wall, glided, glass mirror frames 2014, modern wall mirror models with round frames.
One of our prev posts talked about classic and glided mirror frames for classic house its unique designs for royal tastes and you can see it from here Classic mirror with glided frames for wall decoration.
That is one of important wall accessories in modern and classic decor is mirror frames so we can't find one house don't have one mirror.
The mirror frames have many uses, we can use it in all rooms and we can use it in our hall, its one of special accessories in bathrooms.
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You also see : Modern bathroom Mirrors useful tips for choosing
|modern round frame with oblong mirror, modern mirror for wall


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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Auto buyers are getting a big break these days, as the average interest rate for a new car loan has fallen to 4.27% -- the lowest level in five years, according to Experian Automotive.
Maybe auto consumers have noticed and adopted something of a swagger; more and more are cruising dealer lots looking for brand-new sets of wheels. Money seems to be less of an object, with the average total car loan rising to $26,719 in the third quarter of 2013, up from $25,963 a year ago.
That's the highest since 2008, and an indication a healthier economy and lower auto loan rates are driving stronger auto sales.
"The third quarter of 2013 proved to be a good time to purchase a new vehicle, particularly for consumers who buy based on their monthly payments," says Melinda Zabritski, a senior director at Experian Automotive. "With loan rates at historic lows, car shoppers were able to take advantage and get a little more vehicle for their monthly payment. It's a win for everyone, as shoppers perceive they are getting better deals and manufacturers and dealers are boosting sales.
Also see: Why a Test Drive Means Sitting in the Backseat Too>>
Lower rates are really contributing to stronger sales, Experian says, while the average monthly car payment in the third quarter of 2013 was $458 only $6 higher than the same period last year, when rates were higher.
Expect more tire kicking in dealer lots next year as a result.
According to Zacks Equity Research, U.S. auto sales rose by 9% on a year-to-year basis in November.
"This strong sales trend is expected to continue in December, which generally witnesses high luxury car sales," Zacks reports. "In the long term, sales are expected to rise on the back of strong pent-up demand, easier car financing and low gas prices. Additionally, improving macroeconomic conditions such as low interest rates, reduced unemployment rates and recovery of the housing market are likely to boost sales. These catalysts are expected to drive U.S. auto sales to pre-recession levels."
Also see: It's Finally Time to Buy Used Cars Again>>
If you're in the market for a new car or truck, how can you grab the best rate deal? Put a little time and effort into your search, and start with these tips:
Bargain with your dealer. Auto consumers can get financing through three sources: banks, credit unions and the automaker. Try your dealer first, as they offer competitive rates and may be open to negotiating to get you to sign on the bottom line.
New vehicle = lower rates. If you want the best rates possible, aim for a new car or truck and not a used one. Here's a good rule of thumb: The newer the vehicle, the lower the interest rate.
Go low. When negotiating an auto loan's term length, target a shorter loan (48 months or less). Invariably, the longer the term of your loan, the higher your interest rate, and the more you'll pay for taking full ownership of your vehicle.


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Deemed an unrepentant aristocrat, Count Alexander Rostov is placed under house arrest in a small room in the Metropol, a grand hotel across from the Kremlin in Moscow. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel's doors. 'Exile at home' is the worst kind of punishment because it's impossible to leave and begin anew. He finds ways to pass the time, make himself useful, forge meaningful relationships, and yes, be a little subversive. He befriends a spirited young girl called Nina who joins him on adventures in the hotel and later on, also her daughter Sofia. The story unfolds beautifully and has a great deal of old world charm. Towles has an elegant way of creating a sophisticated ambience with his writing style, but it is also brimming with humour. The ending was perfect.
To be honest, I found parts of the book a tad slow, but then those sections would be followed by some exquisite prose that would take my breath away, and all would be forgiven. Though not difficult to follow, not everyone will have the patience for this book, but if you do, you will be richly rewarded. I actually did love it, but wouldn't recommend it to everyone. It reminded me of the The Elegance of the Hedgehog, which was also received as brilliant by some, and left others wondering what the fuss was about. I loved that one too. So it's definitely a "if you like that, you'll love this" situation. Here is a sample of the writing which also hints at the fascinating political undercurrents ever present in the novel.
"For years now, with a bit of smile, the Count had remarked that this or that was behind him–like his days of poetry or travel or romance. But in so doing, he had never really believed it. In his heart of hearts, he had imagined that, even if unattended to, these aspects of his life were lingering somewhere on the periphery, waiting to be recalled. But looking at the bottle in his hand, the Count was struck by the realization that, in fact, it was all behind him. Because the Bolsheviks, who were so intent upon recasting the future from a mold of their own making, would not rest until every last vestige of his Russia had been uprooted, shattered, or erased."
Whether you decide to read the book or not, this trailer for it is worth a view:


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Jesus died for our sins — so we better make 'em worth it. There's no better way to honor the heavenly bodies rising (from the heavens?) than by binging on bulk bins filled with wax-chocolate bunnies the size of toddlers. GOD BLESS.
While other people might tell you what Easter candies to avoid, we say look at this list and do the exact opposte — pound those Peeps and Palmer's Peanut Butter Cups, dive into some Dove White Chocolate Eggs, and bankrupt Brach's
ear wax jelly beans. BUT WAIT — don't go nuts quite yet.
Because Jesus was frugal, and he'd want you to save. So appease thy stomach with magical fish and bread (Amy's canned soups in bulk from Costco), but wait until April 1st to rise from your bed and pillage Walgreens candy aisle. Then, you can dive into giant shiny bags of half-off pastel M&Ms, exactly as JC prophesied thousands of years earlier. Go make the big guy proud. Happy Easter, and I'll see you all in hell!
*Except, fuck you, fake-ass Snickers egg that looks like a Cadbury Creme Egg but isn't. Even Jesus doesn't break for that shit.
Dan Kosmayer/Shutterstock


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Since it's getting cold outside, it's about time for me to clear the cache of the rest of the food trucks. Hopefully you can find them again when it warms up again.
After the food truck festival at Columbus Commons, I wrote about the Pickled Swine. The Pickled Swine is a deli truck. They didn't have many vegetarian items on their menu at the fest. However, after a recent visit, I discovered that the Pickled Swine has a veggie wrap and a couple of vegetarian sides on the menu.
On my first visit to the Pickled Swine, I was drawn to the house made popsicles. Flavors include sweet corn lemon and basil, cucumber lime and mint, black cherry and goat cheese, and dark chocolate mint and habanero.
The veggie sandwich is called the Oregonian. It is a cold salad wrap with lettuce and an assortment of veggies including spinach, peppers and mushrooms in a mustard dressing wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla.
The bowtie pasta salad is tossed with asiago cheese, pesto, roasted pine nuts, red and yellow peppers and pesto. It had a fresh flavor, and the color was so bright that it exploded.
My initial preconception that Pickled Swine was vegetarian unfriendly is unfounded. It's a fun truck that is worth checking out.
Nick's Pizza is a cart that appears around Columbus and Westerville. The pizza is stone baked and is akin to New York style pie.
The meatless slice at Nick's is the four cheese. It has a soft crust with a crunchy exterior. The cheese was nicely browned, and the sauce is bright and sweet.
Overall, the pizza at Nick's is solid. I have a preference for the pizza at Mikey's Late Night Slice, but Nick's Pizza would be worth a stop if it's in your area.


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Originally, I was going to post a MotorWeek video about the 2006 Lincoln Zephyr. But I couldn't figure out anything to say about that car, even in a snarky tone, so how about we do an American luxury sedan that people actually like?
This is the Cadillac ATS. Matt liked it so much he proclaimed it to be not just a 3-Series competitor, but rather, a 3-Series. And MotorWeek likes it too. They say it's a lightweight, expertly balanced driver's car that's fun in the corners and in a straight line. Whether you're on the street or on the track, it makes you surprised you're driving an American sport sedan, John Davis says.
In other words, it's great. It makes up for years of entry level Caddy misfires like the Cimarron and the Catera. Now we just gave to wait for the V version to come out.
MotorWeek Theater is our showcase of some of our favorite classic reviews from public television's finest motoring program. How does this video only have 25,180 views on YouTube? It's A Terrific Sedan!


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Listen free for 30 days
Murder Goes Mumming
In the frigid Canadian north, Madoc and Janet try to keep warm and stay alive
Though he may not look the part, Madoc Rhys is a Mountie - and his keen sense of detection tells him it's time to ask Janet Wadman to marry him. They have just gotten engaged when Christmas rolls around, and Janet's boss invites them to his family estate for a last holiday fling before Janet leaves her job. After a long helicopter ride, they are at Graylings, ancestral home of the Condryckes, a family so strange that Canada's shortest Mountie fits right in.
There is a psychic old woman, an erudite butler, and a family patriarch who is the spitting image of an English country squire. And when the elderly Mrs. Condrycke is found murdered, Janet will be glad she brought Madoc along. Though civilization is far away, when there is a Mountie in the house, justice is close at hand.
More from the same
What listeners say about Murder Goes Mumming
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
- connie
- 29-12-12
a weaker MacLeod cozy, but Christmas setting
I found this a bit campier than others by MacLeod but still delightful. Some reviewers seem unhappily surprised by their first MacLeod download, so know what to expect: She is closer to a PG Wodehouse than a PD James, so don't expect deep characterization or intense atmosphere but a humorous light cozy with small town mores of the early 70s, not the writing date (*80s). If new to MacLeod, you might want to research her briefly to see where she is coming from.
A couple small bones to pick: If you download cozies like these for their settings, know that this is set in Northern New Brunswick, not the Cdn North as the publisher's blurb suggests - still a charming place, however! Dufris mixes some location pronunciations (Somewhere in between the two official languages of the province). And, although I like to chuckle at the octogenarian MacLeod trying to create two teen stoner characters, she ought to know better than to refer to a "race" issue in Quebec, even if race is a socially constructed concept.
Nit-picking aside, I am grateful to this fun author for the six cozies that just saw me through a recent surgery - very decent distraction by a very talented creator of cozies! And I can only guess that an actual Christmas spent with a NB old money family inspired this farce.
13 people found this helpful


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- Home
- Volcano List
- Teachers
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- All About Volcanoes
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- Adventures and Fun
- FAQ's
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- Sitemap (Under Construction)
- About
Hello Volcano Fans!
As you might have noticed we are in the process of changing to a new style of website. This is a significant upgrade over all previous versions of VW and will allow this website to carry on for some time into the future without any further changes. We understand and apologize that things have been changing so often here, but each step has been required for us to keep the website going. This change will guarantee that VW is always up to date!
Most of the older content is still here!!
I suggest using the search box on the homepage first.
You can also try our sitemap @ http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/view/sitemap
Questions and comments can be emailed to us at: firstname.lastname@example.com


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There is that moment when it all pays off.
When you take yourself completely by surprise. It's usually an all or nothing moment. In a heartbeat you weigh up… throw caution to the wind… and commit.
In a heartbeat. When it doesn't work, it's sore. To body, bike and ego. But when it does, it's glorious. It's why you do this. Total euphoria. At this moment you are truly invincible and nothing else matters. Every cell in your body screams with delight, adrenalin sparkles through your body and you are momentarily free from every earthly trapping known to man.


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(Los Angeles, Calif. – Jan. 23, 2006) Attorney General Terry Goddard today announced that Ameriquest Mortgage Company has agreed to pay $325 million to consumers and states and make sweeping reforms of practices the states alleged amounted to predatory lending.
The $325 million payment is the second-largest state or federal consumer protection settlement in history. The only one larger was the $484 million predatory lending agreement reached in 2002 between most states (including Arizona) and Household Finance Corporation.
The settlement affects 725,037 loans made by Ameriquest between Jan. 1, 1999, and Dec. 31, 2005. The company made 14,180 loans in Arizona during the six-year period. Arizona consumers who obtained Ameriquest loans are expected to receive a total of more than $5 million in compensation. Consumers will be contacted regarding restitution once specific recovery plans are finalized.
"Ameriquest engaged in lending practices that harmed consumers in Arizona and across the nation," Goddard said. "This settlement reforms those practices and compensates consumers. The agreement sets standards I expect other mortgage lenders to follow."
Goddard played an active role in settlement negotiations as co-chair of the Consumer Protection Committee of the National Association of Attorneys General.
He announced the settlement at a press conference held in Los Angeles with California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna, Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti, and banking regulators from New York, California and Washington. The company is based in Orange, Calif.
In addition to $295 million in consumer restitution, Ameriquest will pay $30 million to the 49 states and the District of Columbia that participated in the settlement agreement to cover costs of the investigation and consumer education and enforcement.
The settlement does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing by Ameriquest. However, the mortgage lender agreed to establish new standards to prevent what the states alleged were unfair and deceptive practices.
"I believe that Ameriquest employees deceived consumers with high-pressure tactics to sell mortgage refinances," Goddard said. "The company's commission structure encouraged these high-pressure tactics to reach high monthly sales quotas."
Ameriquest became the nation's largest sub-prime mortgage lender in the past few years as the
U.S. housing market soared in value. The company specializes in refinance loans to existing homeowners who are seeking to consolidate credit card and other debt into their new home mortgage and come out with overall monthly savings. Borrowers who don't have the best credit ratings may turn to sub-prime loans, which often have higher interest rates and other costs.
Settlement Agreement Provisions
The settlement agreement provisions include:
- Ameriquest must provide the same interest rates and discount points for similarly situated consumers.
- Ameriquest cannot pay sales personnel incentives to include prepayment penalties or any other fees or charges in the mortgages.
- The lender must provide full disclosure regarding interest rates, discount points, prepayment penalties and other loan or refinancing terms.
- The company will revamp its appraisal practices by removing branch offices and sales personnel from the appraiser selection process. It will institute an automated system to select appraisers from panels created in each state which will limit the company's ability to get second opinions on appraisals. Ameriquest employees will be prohibited from influencing appraisals.
- The company will not encourage prospective borrowers to falsify income sources or income levels.
- It will limit prepayment penalty periods on variable rate mortgages.
- It will not engage in refinancing solicitations during the first 24 months of a loan, unless the borrower is considering refinancing.
- It will adopt policies to protect whistle-blowers and facilitate reporting of improper conduct.
Ameriquest has already implemented several of these requirements. The agreement also provides for appointment of an independent monitor to oversee Ameriquest's compliance with the settlement terms. The monitor will have broad authority to examine Ameriquest's lending operations. The monitor will submit periodic compliance reports to the Attorneys General over five years, and Ameriquest will pay the monitor's costs.
The States' investigation
Today's announcement culminates almost two years of investigation by the Attorneys General, state banking regulators and local prosecutors, and a year of settlement negotiations.
This investigation began after law enforcement officials and regulators received hundreds of complaints from Ameriquest customers across the country. The ensuing probe uncovered consumer protection problems in areas governed by the settlement. Alleged improper practices include: inadequate disclosure of prepayment penalties, discount points and other loan terms; unsolicited refinancing offers that did not adequately disclose prepayment penalties; improperly influenced and inflated appraisals; and encouraging borrowers to lie about income or employment to obtain loans.
Each signing state will file the settlement, along with consumer protection lawsuits resolved by the settlement, in their respective state courts within 45 days. These courts must approve the settlement before it becomes final.


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In Santa Cruz County and across California, rising pension costs have triggered alarm bells that ring through city halls and legislative corridors alike.
That has triggered two questions. Is anyone listening? And does anyone need to?
The countywide dilemma is part of a broader statewide problem that emerged after the economic crisis. Once-rosy financial projections on the health of the state"s massive, deep-pocketed pension funds encouraged improvements to worker benefits, often politically driven, that seem foolish in retrospect. Officials everywhere now talk grimly of rollbacks that will make public service a fundamentally less-desirable career for the next generation of Californians. The issue is especially critical in Santa Cruz County, a university community where one in six workers is employed by the government.
"The question that has to be asked and answered is, 'What"s it going to cost, and how are we going to pay for it?"" said state Sen. Joe Simitian, a Palo Alto Democrat who is seeking to curb pension abuses. "In too many venues and on too many occasions, people haven"t asked."
The price of those errant forecasts will be felt by taxpayers for years to come, as the state"s largest pension funds have begun handing out steep bills to local governments to help cover the cost of retirement benefits. Even with drastic pension changes under way, those bills are expected to continue for years.
Matt Nathanson, a county public health nurse and SEIU representative, believes threads of opportunism runs through the pension debate, arguing that pension problems are a symptom of the state"s economic problems, not the cause. Nathanson blames financial woes afflicting everyone, including local governments, caused by bad bank investments and corporations that ship jobs oversees and pay little or no taxes.
"It"s being used as a distraction for the real economic problems that are going on," Nathanson said. "To me, that"s the story. The story isn"t the typist clerk III that"s going to work here in Santa Cruz County and retire with $2,000 a month. I don"t think she"s the one ruining the economy. I really don"t."
Some argue that the problem is not as bad as advertised. The current problem is fueled by a stock market collapse not seen since the Great Depression. And chronic under funding of local and state pensions is a decades-old problem that hasn"t caused the widespread calamity many now project.
But pension funding shortfalls total hundreds of millions locally and billions statewide. For public safety pensions, some local governments — Santa Cruz County and Watsonville included — are now projected to spend one-third of their salary costs on pensions to help make up the difference, costing local taxpayers added millions every year. For the city of Santa Cruz, the projections were even higher until public safety union members agreed to pick up more of the cost.
Some of the reasons are beyond elected officials" control, but they have to deal with the consequences: Growing pension costs often mean painful cuts elsewhere and could lead to lower benefits for new public workers.
"These are issues that we"re dealing with now with the (union) bargaining units," said Susan Mauriello, Santa Cruz County"s top administrator, "the future costs of retirement and how we can bring those costs back into alignment with the level of service that"s desired on the street."
Retirement riches?
Though assessing local pensions is difficult — workers tend to shift jobs often, taking their benefits with them — a Sentinel review found that some former area employees are living well on their pensions. More than 100 are taking home more than $100,000 in annual benefits, providing a level of comfort in their golden years alien to most workers. Retired Central Fire Chief Bruce Clark, for example, takes home more than $223,000 annually.
But thousands of former county employees make far less. Among the paper"s findings:
n More than half of local pensioners earn less than $20,000 a year.
n Teacher pensions, which have been targeted by critics nationwide, are modest. The median pension for former teachers is $27,365. The median for other government workers is $18,539.
n Putting your life on the line comes with benefits. Public safety pensions are the most generous in the county, with the top pensions belonging to firefighters. The Central Fire Protection District pension tops the list with a median of $57,666.
Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed capping pensions, though he hasn"t put a dollar figure on it. But capping them at $80,000 annually would save $7 million in annual pension payouts to former local employees, though the actual savings to government are far less.
Before budget talks broke down last month, pension reform was widely seen as key to any bipartisan solution on the state"s multi-billion projected deficit. That sparked an intensely partisan debate pitting powerful interest groups against one another.
In February, the state"s Little Hoover Commission, an independent state watchdog group, slammed local governments for padding pension benefits even after the economic crisis severely impacted their funding. In particular, the commission singled out "golden handshakes" for retiring workers and warned that without significant changes, layoffs and service cuts are certain.
Allegation of double-dipping have also dogged the pension debate, with top managers retiring only to be hired back as consultants.
It is not unusual for former city execs to parlay their expertise into a second career. For example, recently retired police chiefs from Santa Cruz, Capitola and Watsonville formed a consulting group — Belcher, Ehle, Medina & Associates — whose principles collectively take home nearly $390,000 in pensions annually.
Former Santa Cruz Police Chief Steve Belcher said the group has done work for the city of Watsonville before, and the group has done work for other California municipalities. He said their criteria is only whether the group"s expertise can help.
"If not, then we don"t do it," Belcher said.
Pension proposals floating around Sacramento will slash future pension benefits 25 to 40 percent, according to one pension reform group. But some are raising the politically and legally difficult possibility of going even further by slashing existing worker benefits, an idea that would make the recent pension showdown in Wisconsin look like a Sunday picnic.
"Either the whole thing goes down like a house of cards, or we do something with the existing benefits," said Marcia Fritz, president of the pension-reform group California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility.
It is a nationwide problem, but whether the problem is worse than it used to be is not clear-cut. In 1975, the U.S. General Accounting Office estimated state and local pensions were underfunded by $175 billion, or $931 billion in today"s dollars. The Pew Center on the States recently estimated that state and local pensions are underfunded by a nearly equivalent amount — $1 trillion.
While the under funding grabs headlines, those figures can overstate the problem. Unfunded liabilities measure cash on hand versus future obligations, similar to comparing what"s in your bank account against what you owe on a home mortgage.
In fact, the GAO — while it doesn"t regulate public pension funds — recommends a minimum 80 percent funding level. According to the Pew Center, California"s largest public pension plans — including the California Public Employees Retirement Association and the California State Teacher"s Retirement Association — were funded at 87 percent before the economic collapse.
While they bottomed out at 60 percent, CalPERS has since regained nearly $70 billion in value, and is now funded at 70 percent. CalSTRS is funded at 71 percent. If nothing changes, both are projected to have sufficient funds for decades, though both acknowledge change is needed.
But a coalition does seem to be forming around reform. Gov. Jerry Brown even signaled that retirements for the men and women who put their lives on the line — law enforcement officials, whose generous pensions are among the leading culprits in the pension crisis — may have to be pushed back.
"I know some of you might not be ready for that, but we have to deal with pensions. That"s going to be part of the program," Brown told a February meeting of the California Police Officers Association.
Brown has since proposed a slate of pension reforms, including limiting how pensions can be calculated, limiting early retirements, requiring local governments to make scheduled pension contributions and prohibiting them from paying an employee"s share of pension costs, which several Santa Cruz-area governments do.
But it did not include delaying retirements, and many pension critics panned the proposals as insufficient.
It helps to understand how pensions work.
Pension payouts are funded mostly by investment returns on down payments made when a retiree was employed: every paycheck, the employee and employer kick in a share, and the money is invested in stocks, bonds, private equity accounts and more until an employee retires. That"s what funds retiree pensions, not present-day tax dollars
That common misconception frustrates many pensioners, especially when the media focuses on large, six-figure payouts, sometimes padded by financial gimmickry such as counting hefty one-time vacation payouts when calculating a pension.
"When I read those things in the paper they make me furious, because they"re really not about the reality for normal workers, for regular workers," said Santa Cruz resident Roberta Barnett, a 63-year-old retired public health nurse.
"From the outside, people think you"re being given something," she said. "But man, it"s really hard."
The employee"s contribution is often fixed: say, 7 percent of their salary. The government"s share changes from year to year, based on numbers produced by accountants making sure state pension funds meet their future obligations.
And while many pensioners also get Social Security benefits, some don"t, typically teachers though often others as well. And even those that do get Social Security benefits can see those benefits — and even their pensions — reduced if they receive both.
Market returns were so high in the late 1990s and early 2000s that governments often paid nothing — their portion was annulled by booming stock values. That is an important factor in understanding how California — most states — got into this mess.
For many years, investment returns were so good that the state"s pension funds asked local governments to contribute little, if anything, on behalf of their workers. For several years in the early 2000s, Santa Cruz County contributed nothing for its largest group of employees.
It was in that environment that the seeds were planted for what many see as an emerging crisis. Benefits were vastly improved, often through collective bargaining, though many say those increases often came in lieu of salary bumps.
The one decision often blamed for the state"s pension crisis was a political one — Senate Bill 400, a 1999 bill which sailed through both houses of the Legislature with a combined vote of 107-7.
The bill allowed local governments to dramatically hike pensions for cops and firefighters by tweaking the formulas used to calculate pensions, letting them retire as young as 50 with a 50 percent hike in their pension.
Few in the Legislature opposed it, especially since it dealt with the politically sensitive issue of compensating first responders. But it was not without critics, particularly among those familiar with pension financing.
"The worst public policy decision in the history of California," is how Tony Oliveira, a former Kings County supervisor who now sits on CalPERS" board, described it.
With the stock market chugging along, the added benefits looked free. Within a few years, many local governments started offering better retirements to other employees as well.
"It looked like it wouldn"t cost them anything," Oliveira said. "What was left out was the risk."
The 2008 stock market collapse crushed the pension funds, at one point costing CalPERS $100 billion from its peak value — almost enough to cover every projected budget shortfall in every state in U.S., according to budget data collected by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
But the damage already had been done — local governments already had improved worker benefits. Even government administrators leery of improving basic retirement formulas were less resistant to other changes that have largely flown under the radar: changes to pension options that cumulatively added to the problems.
For example, both CalPERS and the CalSTRS started letting people buy "airtime," or added years of services used to calculate pensions. Though often costing a worker thousands, airtime allows pensioners to retire early, thus drawing more benefits in their golden years.
But the funds missed the mark when it came to predicting the impact of that change. More people retired than expected, and the funds were forced to start charging more to buy extra years of service. Brown has now proposed eliminating the program.
Another hidden cost is CalPERS" and CalSTRS" guarantee of a pension"s value. Pensioners can earn annual increases cost-of-living increases, but if those benefits fall too far below their original value when calculated against inflation, CalPERS makes up the difference.
Over the past five years, CalPERS has spent $300 million on that so-called "purchasing power" guarantee. CalSTRS has spent a whopping $1.3 billion.
Another problem is beyond local governments" control: changes in demographics — particularly life-expectancy — have been a major factor in pension funding woes. While employees who retired in 1950 were expected to live another eight years after retirement, retirees today live another 20 years.
All of this comes as local governments are grappling with slowing or even declining tax revenues, forcing them to find cuts elsewhere, and local employee unions expect to be asked for concessions during upcoming contract talks.
But some critics are skeptical of local officials" willingness to do anything about the problem, particularly when public employee unions play such a big role in local politics.
"The unions either own the elected officials or the elected official gets the same benefits. Unfortunately, it"s hard to get people to turn off their personal interest on these things," said Fritz, the pension reform advocate.
Some marquee legislative efforts to curtail pension abuses won"t have much impact on the problem. Brown"s proposals address many of the abuses, but they don"t change the fundamental architecture of pensions.
For example, Simitian has a bill to prevent pension "spiking," or inflating an employee"s single-year salary used to calculate a pension — either through working extra or higher-paying shifts, getting sweetheart one-year promotions or even using accrued vacation payouts — an effort Brown has joined. The bill also bars retirees from immediately being hired back as consultants.
Simitian admits the savings are modest — about $100 million. That may seem like a lot, but not in the world of pension financing: it represents less than 3/100ths of 1 percent of CalPERS and CalSTRS combined $378 billion in assets.
Nevertheless, Simitian said eliminating outrageous examples of pension abuses could help preserve the system for middle-class pensioners.
"This kind of systemic abuse undercuts the public support for a modest and reasonable pension plan," Simitian said.
Nearly all local governments are looking at changes, but change isn"t easy. Even if lawmakers wanted to take the dramatic step of lowering pension benefits for current workers, legal protections require employers to live up to the promises made to workers when they were hired.
That has led many local governments to weigh a new, second tier of benefits for new hires, though it"s a change that won"t pay substantial dividends for years. Local cities even signed on to a statement of principles that calls for enacting that second tier. Seaside City Manager Ray Corpuz Jr. explained in an interview that if all cities got into the problem together, they all must get out together to the make sure the competition between local governments for good workers doesn"t get skewed.
"We cannot just sit and wait. Regional efforts should be pursued," Corpuz Jr. wrote in a memo that circulated to local cities last year. "Otherwise, cities may have to suffer the consequences."
With most government employees unionized, the stage is set for tense contract negotiations. Statewide, union members have begun to fight back, holding a Capitol press conference earlier this month to bust pension "myths," and starting a website, DontScapegoatUs.com.
Having already been hit by the economic downturn, union workers worry that they are now going to take one on the chin in contract negotiations.
"How did it get to be where suddenly nurses, teachers, librarians, parks workers, how did we get to be the problem?" said Nathanson, the county health worker. "We"re part of the group that got screwed, I would argue."
The stories of two area retirees illustrate the debate. Both spent a large part of their career here before taking higher-paying jobs in Santa Clara County that boosted their pensions, a common occurrence in Santa Cruz County. Both also bought additional years of service, or "airtime," and both defend pensions.
But their experiences are very different.
Barnett was a public health nurse in Santa Cruz County for 17 years before taking a higher-paying job in Santa Clara County. She also taught nursing obstetrics at Cabrillo College on and off for two decades.
Barnett"s pension is modest — a little more than $23,000 annually — and the job over the hill came at a price, as she lost the retiree health care benefits she would have had if she retired here. And since she"s not yet eligible for Medicare, Barnett works at UCSC to help cover her $660 monthly insurance bill, which pays for a plan with a $4,000 deductible.
And for her years of teaching, Barnett takes home a mere $83 a month.
"We live a very frugal life. We don"t spend a lot of money. My husband drives a 1988 Toyota truck," said Barnett, who lives in a small home on the Westside of Santa Cruz. "We don"t have any bad habits. We don"t spend a lot of money."
News reports highlighting pensions that sometimes exceed $200,000 anger Barnett, particularly when cash-strapped governments are asking lower-paid workers to take furloughs and other cuts.
"That"s embarrassing that they have people who have pensions that are that large," Barnett said. "The majority of people in public service don"t have really large pensions."
One who does make a six-figure pension is Ron Whipp, the county"s former risk manager until he started working for the Santa Clara County Water Resources Agency later in his career. His $133,000 annual benefit reflects his executive position — Whipp was simply paid more than other county workers.
But Whipp also made a substantial investment in his own pension, paying a small fortune — well over six figures — to buy three years of airtime and an additional four years of credit for military service when he worked over the hill, another CalPERS perk. Whipp is essentially gambling that he lives long enough to recoup the money.
Whipp said the pension helped keep him in public service — he had offers that would have paid him substantially more than his government salary, he said.
"I likely would not have stayed in public service had it not been for the pension and the medical benefits," Whipp said. "I made my decision for the long-term. My decision was also based on my desire to give something back to my community."
And for top-level managers like Whipp, a loss or cap on pension benefits might force them to leave public service for the private sector, where salaries are often higher and managers routinely earn lucrative bonuses.
If that happens, local governments risk losing good people.
"If you"re going to get people like that, and hold on to them, you"ve got to pay 'em something," Whipp said, adding that the total compensation package should be comparable to the private sector.
Studies vary on whether public sector workers are paid less than other workers, with the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility — a group seeking to cut pensions — commissioning a recent study saying they earn similar amounts.
But one recent study supports Whipp"s assertion. Published in September by Jeffrey Keefe, a labor relations professor at Rutgers University, the study found that college-educated public workers were paid 25 percent less than their private sector counterparts. And they paid a greater percentage of their total compensation packages toward benefits.
Oliveira, the CalPERS board member, said public employees aren"t to blame for problems in the pension funds.
"Local government employees, our neighbors, they just do their jobs. I say that the responsibility for good decisions and bad decisions lie primarily with local government officials," said Oliveira, who was a county supervisor for 20 years. "But let"s not demonize the men and women that are just working in these agencies and just want to do their jobs."
For Simitian, there are lessons, too. Lessons about lawmakers who didn"t weigh the implications of their votes, didn"t act as good stewards of the public"s money. Lawmakers who couldn"t say no, not with one eye on their next job.
"Term limits has its pluses and its minuses," Simitian said. "One of the things that suffers in a term-limited environment is the need for a longer-range view."
*Because pensions follow an employee from job to job, these pensioners did not necessarily spend their careers in Santa Cruz County. David Parrish, for example, was a chief probation officer in Santa Cruz County, but his pension is determined by his salary when he was the top executive in Riverside County. Lane Liroff also spent the bulk of his career as a prosecutor in Santa Clara County, where his pension was set. The pensions are funded by state retirement accounts, not current county funds.


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Last month, I visited the BMW Guggenheim Lab for a talk by my friend Kio Stark, author of the novel Follow Me Down. Kio is interested in cities, technology, and intimacy; the intersection of which is explored in the class she teaches at ITP on stranger interactions.
"Cities are machines that produce interactions," she explained at the outdoor lecture hall. While most of us go out of our way to avoid having to acknowledge persons we do not know, she argues the presence of strangers is probably why you live in a city in the first place. "The culture of cities is a culture of strangers."
Stranger interactions can be emotional and meaningful. Most of us can recall some insight gleaned from a fleeting interaction with someone at a coffee shop or queuing up for a train. Kio says it's actually "good for your brain" to talk with strangers as we become more creative when our frame of references grows wider. Stranger interactions make us more tolerant people, and also expand "our sense of the group we belong to."
She concluded the talk with practical advice on how to go about initiating and/or welcoming stranger interactions. Much as I appreciated the lesson, as a hardnosed introvert, I was still not so inclined to put it all in practice — intending to step out for the interactive portion of the event. But before I could stealthily exit out the side, I was paired with an enthusiastic freshman at NYU. As part of the assignment, we struck up conversations with people and asked "what are you afraid of?"
While the answers from these strangers we met were thoughtful and the experience of meeting them randomly was empowering, in the end, the conversation I had with the girl I was partnered with ...


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Provided by: libsemanage1-dev_3.0-1build2_amd64
semanage_exists - SELinux Management API
The following exists function is supported for any semanage record. Replace the function and object name as necessary. extern int EXISTS_FUNCTION ( semanage_handle_t *handle, const semanage_OBJECT_key_t *key, semanage_OBJECT_t **response);
Behavior: The exists function will return 0 if a matching key is not found, and 1 otherwise. Parameters: The handle is used to track persistent state across semanage calls, and for error reporting. The key identifies the object being checked. The result of the test will be stored in the address pointed by response The key is a property of the caller, and will not be stored or modified internally. Requirements: This function requires an semanage connection to be established (see semanage_connect(3) )
In case of failure, -1 is returned, and the semanage error callback is invoked, describing the error. Otherwise a non-negative integer is returned (a commit number). The same number will be returned by all other read calls to the semanage database until the next commit.
semanage_handle_create(3), semanage_connect(3),


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Wealthy executives and tourists visiting Sydney will be able to flit directly to the city's famous harbour after the government announced Tuesday it will allow a floating heliport.
The heliport will be the first in the city for more than 20 years and will bring passengers from the airport to the famous white sails of the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge within minutes.
"The Sydney Harbour floating heliport is a new signature experience that will help entice visitors to Sydney and make it easy for them to enjoy a birds' eye view of the harbour," New South Wales state Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner said.
Industry leaders have long called for a heliport based in the city, which last had one in the late 1980s operating from the Darling Harbour tourist precinct, along the lines of the services available in New York.
The large barge, which will be anchored a short boat ride from Circular Quay, will have two helipads and be in place from early December.
"Tourist flights are definitely a portion of it," said James Guest, director of Newcastle Helicopters which will run the service, adding that businesspeople would also be a major market.
The tourism and business sectors welcomed the development.
"It's a commonsense outcome that puts Sydney in a similar position to other renowned global cities" said Patricia Forsythe, executive director of the Sydney Business Chamber.


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News & Notes: Game 114
Follow the Herd:
Listen to the Game Live: CLICK HERE!
Bisons Baseball Network: CLICK HERE!
Email the Broadcast Team: CLICK HERE!
Everything about the Herd: CLICK HERE!
Get to a Bisons Game: CLICK HERE!
TODAY'S GAME: Tonight, the Buffalo Bisons take on the Rochester Red Wings in the fourth game of a five-game series from Coca-Cola Field (7:05p.m.). The Herd trails 2-1 in the series following last night's 8-6 loss. On Friday, the Bisons welcome in the Lehigh Valley IronPigs for a four-game set.
vs. THE RED WINGS: The Herd is 3-6 against Rochester this season. That record includes a 1-3 mark here at Coca-Cola Field. After having lost just one season-series to the Red Wings from 1998-2007 (93-66), the Bisons are now just 8-17 in their last 25 games against their closest rivals. The Herd lost nine of the final 10 games against Rochester during the 2008 season.
ON THE SNYD: RHP Kyle Snyder is coming off one of his best starts of the season. The veteran allowed just one run on three hits in five innings on Friday to beat the Clippers in Columbus. The versatile pitcher has been used as a starter (9 starts) and as a reliever (19 appearances) this year. His 60 strikeouts on the year top all Bisons pitchers current on the team's roster.
REY TO BE: INF Argenis Reyes' hit streak has reached 11 games. Reyes went 1-4 last night and has now averaged .340 (17-50) since the streak began on August 1. He also has two doubles, a triple, six RBI and three runs scored during the stretch. The streak is tied for the 3rd longest for a Bisons hitter this year, five games behind INF Javier Castillo's team-high 16-game streak.
WELL-DESERVED: INF Jesus Feliciano's got a day off yesterday after playing in 65 consecutive games. He's played in 104 games this year, 14 more than any other Bison (INF Mike Lamb, 90). Feliciano leads the Herd with his .303 batting average and his 120 hits are 3rd in the IL, just three behind Scranton/WB's Austin Jackson. However, Lamb (40RBI) did leapfrog Feliciano (39RBI) last night for the team lead in runs driven in.
BISONS BITS: RHP Jim Ed Warden has struck out nine batters in his first 5.0 innings with the team…As a team, the Bisons have averaged .361 (13-36) with runners in scoring position so far this series…INF Wilson Valdez has hit .284 (27-95) in his 31 games with the Bisons. C Robinson Cancel has seven hits in his last 11 at-bats (.636) over a three-game stretch.


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I rode my bike to my hair appointment at Ron's Salon Saturday…in a dress!
My windblown "do"! It was dry by the time I rode home.
I was feeling so good, I went shopping at Dillard's for makeup and came out with a new bathing suit, cover up, makeup, and shampoo (because I passed by Ulta!). I haven't bought a bathing suit in years…I hate shopping! I even went for my first swim of the season that afternoon with my friends. I was like a little kid after that, I needed a nap! (It might have been the combination of 3 hours of sun and a daiquiri!) Summer is here!
I was lazy and crafty the rest of the holiday weekend. Scrap and nap! I thought I'd make a few cards after seeing the Club Scrap July Card Sketch Challenge. Annette did a great job with this one! I love the simplicity.
Club Scrap® (CS) card stock. Bathing suit stamps, sentiment and banner stamp from CS Boardwalk kit, palm tree image from JFF Rubber Stamps
I haven't used my alcohol markers in a while. I love the vibrant colors!
I am impatiently waiting for my July 2017 Club Scrap® Deluxe kit Vintage Botany kit to arrive in the mail! So, I downloaded the digital kit and whipped up a digi card too. That "punny" sentiment is hilarious!
So, I get this text yesterday…
Well, I would have worn blue panties, but I never botany! Bahahahaha!!!!
Do more of what makes you happy!
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Club Scrap card stock
Club Scrap Boardwalk Stamps
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Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers
Club Scrap July Card Sketch Challenge
Crafty Creations Challenges #345 Anything Goes
Aurora Wings Challenge Blog: Challenge #53 Anything Goes
Dare2BArtzy July Challenge Bright Colors
Hiding In My Craftroom HIMCR #307 Photo Colors Challenge
Inkspirational Challenge #138 -Rural


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Cycling for Girls
Around 90% of girls ride bicycles. The numbers are drastically lower for women with only about 30% of women reporting having ridden a bicycle with any regularity in the past 10 years. We need to get girls riding their bikes, and to continue to ride their bikes in to adulthood. A bicycle provides girls with a tool to adventure and independence. Also, we have seen the adverse affects of a stationary lifestyle; and a bicycle is a great way to off set this current trend. I will be riding from Austin,Texas to Miami Florida in February and March. Along the way I will be working with Girl Scout troops where they can earn a special cycling badge. I didn't want to have to ask for help with funding this journey but finances change and people keep asking if they can help. So, here it is. A small little donation button and any little bit can help. I need to order the badges this week and that'll cost a couple hundred dollars alone. This is an exciting journey in which I hope to engage with girls and get them out riding or inspired to take some action in the safety of the riders in their town. When I say my bicycle saved my life I am not joking. I had lost control of my life and was unhappy and unable to see a way to turn things around. Those long slow bike rides gave me my first opportunities to truly decompress, to explore my beautiful city, and to get in exercise without even realizing it. The bicycle is a beautiful machine. One that isn't exclusive to any gender, income group, or age. So, even if you can't go ride a bike for a while (most of you have bigger commitments than I do) than maybe you can join in this adventure with a small donation. I love you all and truly appreciate all your support and encouragement.


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Qualcomm Q1 Net Up 36 Percent on Strong Smartphone Demand
Qualcomm Inc.'s fiscal first-quarter profit rose 36 percent as the chip maker continued to benefit from strong demand for smartphones.
The company also raised its full-year guidance, now seeing per-share earnings of $4.25 to $4.45 on revenue of $23.4 billion to $24.4 billion. Qualcomm in November projected per-share earnings of $4.12 to $4.32 a share on revenue of $23 billion to $24 billion.


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The federal government shutdown had a major impact on Arkansas' work force. From the Department of Human Services to the Department of Health, hundreds of state workers were furloughed as federal funding was put on hold. About 350 Little Rock Air Force Base civilians were placed on furlough, while the Arkansas National Guard halted certain operations impacting up to 10,000 guard members.
The federal government shutdown had a major impact on Arkansas' work force. From the Department of Human Services to the Department of Health, hundreds of state workers were furloughed as federal funding was put on hold. About 350 Little Rock Air Force Base civilians were placed on furlough, while the Arkansas National Guard halted certain operations impacting up to 10,000 guard members.
Clinton speaks at Greers Ferry Dam 50th anniversary
On the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Greers Ferry Dam in Heber Springs, former President Bill Clinton addressed a large crowd at a ceremony commemorating the Oct. 3, 1963, dedication. Built for flood control on the Little Red River, the $46.7 million dam took six years to build and encompasses 31,500 acres and roughly 285 miles of shoreline. It has led to millions of dollars in tourism for the Heber Springs region, which benefits from fishing, skiing, camping and other lake-related activities.
Arvest Bank to acquire National Bank of Arkansas
Bentonville-based Arvest Bank Group Inc. and National Banking Corp., the holding company for North Little Rock-based National Bank of Arkansas, say they have entered into a "definitive agreement" for Arvest to own the bank. NBC will sell 100 percent of the issued and outstanding stock, or 93,843 shares, of NBC to Arvest Holding Company Inc., a subsidiary of Arvest Bank Group, for an undisclosed sum. The sale is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Plum Creek Timber CEO points to industry rebound
Plum Creek Timber Corp. CEO Rick Holley told members of the Arkansas Forestry Association that a housing recovery and new markets bode well for the industry as he expects bullish opportunities in the coming months and years.
Touting a healthy rebound in new housing starts, Holley said demographic trends support continued construction activity in the U.S. for the next several years. He also said that rising Chinese demand for American lumber and devastation from a Canadian pine beetle infestation bode well for more southern timber producers.
September gains boost year-to-date state tax collections
Boosted by across-the-board September gains in all major revenue categories, Arkansas ended its first fiscal quarter with net revenues 4.2 percent above last year and 2.3 percent above forecast. State revenue officials reported that the rise in individual and corporate income taxes and sales and use taxes in September was encouraging as nothing unusual accounted for the boost.
Despite glitches, health insurance officials encouraged
Despite glitches in the new online insurance marketplace, Arkansas officials were encouraged by early participation. The federal government's marketplace website triggered technical problems for the state's online enrollment site – arhealthconnector.org – but Insurance Department leaders said they felt users would not be deterred.
Hino Motors to expand by 200 workers, $55 million
Hino Motors Manufacturing U.S.A. will expand its Marion manufacturing facility, adding 200 jobs and investing more than $55 million. The auto parts maker currently employs 350 at its Marion factory.
Hino's presence in Arkansas dates to July 2004 when the company broke ground on its manufacturing facility in Marion. Through this expansion, the company will grow its capacity to manufacture axles, knuckles and suspension components for Toyota's Tacoma, Tundra and Sequoia models.
Walmart names Kathleen McLaughlin to head Walmart Foundation
Walmart announced that Kathleen McLaughlin, 48, has been named president of the Walmart Foundation, effective Oct. 15. She replaces Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who left to become director of the White House Office of Management and Budget in April.
In addition to leading corporate giving, McLaughlin will have responsibility for the company's global sustainability, women's economic empowerment and healthier food initiatives. McLaughlin, previously a senior partner at global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, is a dual American-Canadian citizen and was based in Toronto.
Roby Brock, a freelance journalist based in Little Rock, writes weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau. His weekly television program airs at 10 p.m. Sundays in Central and Northwest Arkansas. His e-mail address is email@example.com; his website address is www.talkbusiness.net.


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I'm back and I come bearing a review (and giveaway) to add to the ever growing list of gluten-free companies here on The Eclectic Element; this time, I'm spotlighting Bakery on Main after a complete accidental run in with one of their products on a local shopping trip.
As they say in their company logo, "Good things come from small batches!" I must attest to this statement, especially now that I've been able to enjoy some oh-so-deliciously-gluten-free goodies from Bakery on Main.
The only bad thing about those 'small batches' is they leave you wanting more once you've eaten the very last bite! Although, I must admit, that's the evil genius behind their must-have goodies ;)
Before I dive into the good stuff (quite literally), here is a little background on Bakery on Main:
If you're interested in learning more about Bakery on Main or their products, you can visit their Website, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, or even subscribe to their YouTube page.
They even have a Blog you can read to keep up with their latest news and goings-on!
Don't forget to subscribe to join their Eat Better Live Better Club to receive $1.50 coupon good towards to purchase of their products ^.^
1. You MUST include a way to reach you whether it be an email or blogger URL.
2. US residents only-sorry everyone else!
**Disclaimer: I was provided the line of Truebars from Bakery on Main at no cost to me in order to facilitate this review and giveaway. All opinions expressed in the above post are 100% mine and mine alone unless otherwise stated. This contest is open to US residents only and will run from Monday, May 21st, 2012 11:01pm central standard time until Monday, June 4th, 2012 11:01 pm central standard time. The winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter.com and be contacted within 24 hours of the drawing. You'll then have 48 hours (2 days) to claim your prize and send me all applicable information-If I haven't heard from you within that time frame, I will be forced to choose another winner.**


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Book of Saints – Agnes – 21 January
AGNES (AGNA) Virgin. Martyr. (January 21) (4th century) A Virgin-Martyr, everywhere venerated and one of those daily commemorated in the Canon of the Mass. At the tender age of thirteen, she obtained the double crown of martyrdom and chastity. Failing to burn her at the stake, the Prefect of Rome under Maximian Herculeus ordered her to be beheaded (A.D. 301), though this precise date is much contested. She was buried on the Via Nomentana, where a church was built by Constantia, daughter of the Emperor Constantine. Saint Agnes is represented in various ways, but mostly with a lamb at her feet and a sword in her hand. Many details of the fifth century Acts of Saint Agnes are open to criticism, though substantially the circumstances of her martyrdom are authentic.


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AR The Inspiration - Life Ain't Easy [Unsigned Hype]
"Founder of the Life Goes on Foundation & Life Goes
On Entertaiment, gunshot victim turned community
activist & rapper AR tells about the night that left
him shot and paralyzed in San Francisco, CA on the
date December 2nd of 2007."
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While the rest of the country is paying off their non-mortgage debt at a pace not seen in nearly a decade, B.C. continues to buck the trend, adding on more debt.
TransUnion's analysis shows that on the West Coast, the average adult's personal debt has reached $38,619 per person and is growing again after falling between the third and fourth quarters of last year.
Average consumer debt in B.C. grew 3.2 per cent year-over-year, including a 3.7-per-cent jump between the fourth quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of this year, the credit reporting agency found.
Scott Hannah, president of the Credit Counselling Society, a non-profit society that offers free credit counselling services, said he's not surprised by the numbers.
"We're carrying too much debt and we live in a really expensive marketplace where an extraordinary amount of a person's net income is going toward housing and transportation costs, and we just don't have the income to support it. It's just not sustainable," Hannah said.
He says calls to the Lower Mainland offices of the Credit Counselling Society have increased by 23 per cent in the first five months of this year compared to last year, and that the total debt levels of individuals seeking credit counselling are up by about 7.7 per cent.
He sees clients having to make tough choices in order to survive — perhaps choosing between driving a car or owning a home, or deciding to move to another province where housing costs are lower.
Nationally, the average amount of consumer debt fell two per cent this quarter to $26,935, while growing 3.5 per cent year over year.
Thomas Higgins, TransUnion's vice-president of analytics and decision services, attributes the national drop to people paying off their Christmas bills in the first quarter, with B.C. an anomaly in this regard. Higgins also noted that a similar decrease in balances occurred early in 2011, but was followed by increases later in the year.
The quarterly drop is the largest observed since TransUnion began tracking the figure in 2004.
While Alberta passed B.C. as the most indebted province late last year, the increase in the average British Columbian's debt in the first quarter put the province back into first place. All other provinces saw a quarter-over-quarter decline, TransUnion found.
Much of the provincial increase appears to be coming from loans and auto loans, not credit cards or lines of credit. Loans were up 5.9 per cent, while auto loans were up 5.27 per cent year over year, TransUnion reported.
"The average Canadian pays approximately $1,398 in interest per year on their lines of credit," Higgins said. "If the prime rate were to increase by 100 basis points, the yearly payments would rise by $350. An increase of 200 basis points would increase yearly payments by $699, placing more debt burdens on consumers."
A higher interest rate would hit heavily indebted B.C. residents harder than people living in other provinces, Higgins said.
Delinquency levels remained low for all types of borrowing, with lines of credit and auto loans having the lowest percentages, TransUnion reported. B.C. has the highest default rate in the country for lines of credit at 0.25 per cent, while B.C. has the lowest default rate in the country for credit cards and auto loans, both well under one per cent.
"The delinquency rates are still so low in lines of credit that it's not really a concern," Higgins said. "Where there is concern about lines of credit is if there is an increase in interest rates. That debt makes up 40 per cent of all non-mortgage debt and it's all variable-rate."


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Cranberry Chutney
Total TimePrep: 40 min. + chilling
Makes3 cups
- 4 cups (1 pound) fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 cup chopped tart apple
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- In a large saucepan, combine the first eight ingredients. Cook over medium heat until berries pop, about 15 minutes.
- Add the apple, raisins and celery. Simmer, uncovered, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl; refrigerate until chilled.
Nutrition Facts2 tablespoons: 70 calories, 0 fat (0 saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 5mg sodium, 18g carbohydrate (16g sugars, 1g fiber), 0 protein.
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Oct 24, 2018
Was super duper yummy. I replaced the golden raisins and celery with green apple and orange zest cause that's what I had on hand and it turned out lovely.
Nov 19, 2017
Delicious and easy to make. Whole house smelled good while making. I added some orange zest but otherwise kept to the recipe and found it really good.
Dec 29, 2016
Easy to make and tasted great with turkey.
Dec 25, 2014
So good!
Jan 17, 2014
Everyone loves this! It was a great hit with Christmas ham, and also over cream cheese with crackers as a snack.
Dec 25, 2013
This is a great cranberry chutney, even the people that normally would not have any cranberry sauce with their meal really liked this. I have also used it with pork. Just love this one.
Dec 2, 2013
Very good but will omit the cinnamon next time. Makes a great side dish with poultry.
Dec 1, 2013
This is so delicious! I served it for Thanksgiving this year instead of cranberry sauce, and everyone loved it. The recipe makes a lot, so I shared some with friends, who also loved it and requested the recipe to make for their next holiday meal. This will be a staple during the holidays from now on!
Nov 11, 2013
I changed the recipe some. Instead of white sugar I used Splenda and used only 1/4 cup packed brown sugar. I would give it a 5 star rating and will make it again. Perhaps the next time I will use the Splenda brown sugar if I have some.
Dec 7, 2012
Made this for my leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches. It is easy and delicious!


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2013 – Solemn Year of Saints Emperors Constantine and Helen
2013 – Solemn Year of Saints Emperors Constantine and Helen and Commemorative Year of "Dumitru Staniloae" at the Romanian Patriarchate
Following the initiative of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel taken during the working session of 25 October 2011, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church approved that the year 2013 should be declared Solemn Year of Saint Emperors Constantine and Helen at the anniversary of 1700 years since the Edict of religious tolerance of Milan (313).
The Holy Synod Office worked out a church national frame programme for implementing the liturgical, cultural and media programme entitled 2013 – Solemn Year of Saints Emperors Constantine and Helen atthe Romanian Patriarchate.
- The state of the Roman Empire before the Edict of Milan – 313 (political, military and social crisis, persecution of the Christians and sufferance of the Christian Church etc.);
- Edict of Milan (313) – tolerance and freedom for the Christian Church (conversion of Emperor Constantine the Great to the Christian religion, consequences of the Edict of Milan – Chart of the Christian freedom and religious tolerance etc.);
- Saints Emperors Constantine and Helen (social and religious politics of Constantine the Great and the relations between State and Church, the church life at the time of Constantine the Great etc.).
During the second semester of 2013, the theme will be complementary entitled "Saints Emperors Constantine and Helen, Supporters of the Church", with the following subthemes:
- Importance of Saints Constantine and Helen for the life and activity of the Church (development of the liturgical art, of the Christian art and architecture, Christian education and family, protection of the human dignity through laws and charitable deeds etc.);
- Topicality of the religious, social, legislative and social-philanthropic politics of Saint Emperors Constantine and Helen for the life of the contemporary world (religious freedom in a secularised and laicized world, contemporary political man and Christian religion, celebration of the Sunday and of the great church feasts, construction of churches, support by the State of the social-philanthropic and cultural-educational activity of the Church etc.);
- Devotion and worshipping of the Saints Emperors Constantine and Helen by the Church (liturgical, iconographic etc.).
In October 2013, a Holy Synod solemn working session will be held at the Patriarchate Palace on the theme 2013 – Solemn Year of Saint Emperors Constantine and Helen at the Romanian Patriarchate and a thematic exhibition will be organised representing Saints Emperors Constantine and Helen, as well as important churches with Saints Emperors Constantine and Helen as saint patrons.
In 2013, the pilgrimage agencies of the Romanian Patriarchate will organise pilgrimages to Rome, Milan, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Nis, as well as to other places where there are vestiges of Saints Emperors Constantine and Helen.
For the theological school of the Romanian Patriarchate the year 2013 is a "Dumitru Staniloae" Commemorative Year too. On this occasion, a national contest will be organised on the life and work of Rev Dumitru Staniloae (1903 – 1993), the greatest Romanian theologian, as well several commemorative events in Bucharest and other cities.
The manifestations organised during the "Solemn Year of Saints Emperors Constantine and Helen and "Dumitru Staniloae" Commemorative Year" will be publicised by Basilica Press Centre of the Romanian Patriarchate (Trinitas Radio, Trinitas Television, Lumina publications, Basilica News Agency and Press Office), church eparchial mass-media and by the laic press.
Source: Orthodoxy Cognate PAGE


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LP Field
The Tennessee State Tigers play home games in one of the nation's finest sports venues in LP Field, sharing the facility for home games with the National Football League's Tennessee Titans.
The state-of-the-art facility has served as home of the Tigers and the Titans since the 1999 season. LP Field is located on the east bank of the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville.
LP Field, which seats approximately 69,143 fans, boasts incredible amenities, ranging from spacious and tastefully appointed locker rooms to massive scoreboards. The natural grass field was rated as the fourth best playing surface in the NFL in a poll conducted among league players in 2001.
LP Field has 144 luxury suites and 9,600 club seats with access to the stadium club and club lounges. There are also approximately 7,500 parking spaces on the site.
LP Field grounds are also designed to help create a park-like setting along the Cumberland River, not just a showplace for bland concrete and asphalt. More than 205 trees have been planted on the 105-acre campus.
Tiger fans gather early and stay late to enjoy tailgating on LP Field grounds. In addition to games featuring the Tigers and Titans. LP Field also hosts college football's annual Music City Bowl in late December. LP Field hosts concerts and other special events during the course of a year.
In 2012, the Tigers played their 14th season at LP Field. Since beginning play in the state-of-the-art NFL facility in 1999, the Tigers have posted a 35-25 record in games played at LP Field.
The facility was named for William J. Hale, who served as TSU's first president.
On Feb. 21, 2012, The Tennessean highlighted Tennessee State's new upgrades for football and the school's top HBCU recruiting class. Below is the article as published by Mike Organ.
Tennessee State football Coach Rod Reed has rerouted the map he follows when a recruit visits, thanks to some new construction and upgrades.
Instead of starting with a trip to LP Field, where TSU has played its home games for the past 13 years, Reed brings prospects straight to campus, where he shows off the team's new locker room, indoor practice facility and renovated weight room.
Reed said that helped the Tigers sign a class two weeks ago that achieved the top ranking for historically black colleges and universities.
"We used to just go to LP Field and show off the locker room and other facilities there when we'd bring a recruit in," Reed said. "When a kid would ask about the locker room or practice field on campus, we would just kind of shy away from it."
The new locker room in Gentry Center was opened late in the summer, and the $3.7 million indoor practice facility and weight room renovations were completed last fall.
"It's really, really nice," said receiver Lavatiae Kelly of Hollywood, Fla., who is considered one of TSU's top signees. "I might not have known what to expect, but I didn't expect anything as nice as what they have."
TSU is one of just six Football Championship Subdivision schools that has an indoor practice facility.
"Any improvement to facilities is going to help a school in recruiting," said Donal Ware, founder and CEO of Boxtorow, a media company that covers HBCU athletics. "When kids see that type of thing, they know that there is a commitment being made by the school to the football program. You add in Tennessee State with its history, all those things play a factor."
The Tigers used the 60,750-square foot indoor facility several times this past season on extremely hot days or when rain kept them from practicing outside.
Reed is particularly proud of the new locker room, which houses 65 wooden, NFL-style lockers and four flat-screen televisions.
"When Coach Reed applied for the head coaching position, one of the main things he talked about was upgrading the facilities," Athletics Director Teresa Phillips said. "He really felt it would help him to improve recruiting. We told him we already planned to build the indoor facility, and he said he would take care of the locker room."
Almost immediately after being named coach in December 2010, Reed started a campaign to raise money from TSU alumni for the locker room.
He ended up with $125,000 in pledges, and the university kicked in $25,000 to complete the project.
"Each kid has an individual lock box with a combination lock for their valuables," Reed said. "We just got in the stools so that they can sit inside or in front of their lockers when they dress. With the flat-screen TVs, we're finding a lot of the guys are using the locker room now as a hangout. They can come in and watch ESPN. We've got DirecTV, so they can pretty much watch whatever they want."
The locker room previously was used as a football meeting room for the offense.
It is located on the side of Gentry Center that faces Hale Stadium. The previous football locker room was located underneath Hale Stadium.
TSU plans to play at least one game at Hale Stadium, which is currently being renovated, this year for the first time since 1998.
In the future, the Tigers hope to play two or three home games at Hale while continuing to play the John Merritt Classic and homecoming at LP Field.
"We'll be able to start a tradition of walking from the new locker room, which sits up higher on a little hill behind the stadium, down to the field now," Reed said.
Other than paint and the addition of new free weights bearing the TSU logo, the improvements in the weight room mostly came down to rearranging the stations.
"We moved our squat platforms away from the wall and cleared out some other things we had in the middle of the room, so that now we have an open space which is wide enough to run short sprints," said strength coach Alvin Futrell. "It's also arranged now where me and my assistant coaches can better keep an eye on the players when they're working out."
The weight room is located in Gentry Center near the new locker room, making it more convenient for the players than when the locker room was at Hale Stadium.
"This is a lot better for the players to have the locker room right across from the weight room," Reed said. "Especially at this time of the year when it's cold. They don't have to leave the building to get dressed."


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Rovio's Angry Birds Star Wars cross-over game has received its first gameplay trailer, giving eager fans their first look at several iconic Star Wars characters in their Angry Bird form.
The trailer shows off both Luke Skywalker as the Red bird and Princess Leia as the Pink one. These aren't just Star Wars skinned birds, however. These characters possess traits that make each one unique. Luke Skywalker uses his signature lightsaber to slice his way through Tusken Raiders on Tatooine, while Princess Leia blasts some AT-AT walkers on Hoth. It may not be the most authentic recreation, but it's still looks like a fun little romp, especially with the Cantina song playing in the background.
Angry Birds Star Wars is due to release on November 8 for iOS, WIndows 8, Kindle, and Android devices.


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AFC Wimbledon striker Jack Midson is among eight first team names released by the club in its summer clear out.
Midson, who counts the penalty that kept the Dons in League Two last season among his 42 goals for the club, was released on Thursday as boss Neal Ardley looks to cut player wages.
Joining Midson leaving the Cherry Red Records stadium are Will Antwi, Peter Sweeney, Charlie Strutton, Rhys Weston and Callum Kennedy.
The list also includes Luke Moore and Seb Brown, leaving only Sammy Moore from the side that won promotion to the Football League three years ago.
Ardley said: "Jack was our best paid player, and while some people will say he deserves that because he has done great things for the club and is a legend the club, at the same time the biggest earner in my budget was not a first choice for a large part of the season.
"I have never had an issue with Jack, he is a first-class professional – he was left out at the beginning of the season when he was out of form, and he came back into the side when he hit form.
"Unfortunately I have to work with a small budget and work out how to improve, and when you have a small budget, you have to use it to get the most playing time."
He added: "It's not necessarily a case of getting two players for Jack's wage, I'd rather get someone better.
"But it's tough - we started to look at our recruitment about four or five weeks ago, and we have been in touch with agents to see what they want for their players and we've been blown away.
"You have to get out there early before all the best players go, but at the same time they command what they want."
Another two names on the released list could be Jake Nicholson and Charlie Sheringham, as the pair's situation is being reviews in the next two weeks.


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The fully redesigned Kuhn Knight RA 100 Series Helix Reel Auggie mixers provide outstanding durability and performance. From high amounts of processed roughages to wet, heavy rations, the RA 100 Helix mixers meet the needs of even the most demanding producers. Two models are available in this series featuring the new Helix Reel.
The all-new, open-concept Helix Reel offers faster, more consistent mixing and improved load leveling with any ration. Strengthened body and drive components provide superior dependability and long life. With a low horsepower requirement, the RA 100 Helix mixers use less fuel than other mixer types for more economical operation. These mixers are available in truck, trailer and stationary models with capacities of 360 and 420 cubic feet. For complete machine specifications and additional details, visit www.KuhnNorthAmerica.com.
Kuhn North America is a leading innovator in the field of agricultural and industrial equipment, specializing in spreaders, mixers, hay and tillage tools. Kuhn and Kuhn Knight products are sold through farm equipment dealers throughout the United States, Canada and many other countries.